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Discussion

I’ve noticed people wanting to start discussions on various topics related to The Arinthian Line, Fury of a Rising Dragon, etc in the comments section of the blog posts, which in turn get buried over time. So I thought I’d put this page up as a trial “discussion page” and see what happens. I’ll respond and moderate in between bouts of writing, but feel free to weigh in on anything and to anyone.

Let me kick things off by quoting a reader, who said, “What I find inspiring is that I think we can all find a little of ourselves in each of the characters.” So which of the characters do you relate to?

Some other things to consider:

Which is your favorite scene? Who is your absolute favorite character or characters? Who is your favorite villain? What sort of scene would you like to see? What’s your favorite spell, and why? Which scene did you find the most fun? Which scene was the most romantic for you? Which scene was the most thrilling for you?

Otherwise, have any questions, ideas, thoughts? Leave a comment below, and we’ll see how it goes!

That seems to be the standout scene for a lot of people. It was one of my favorites to write (and hardest to get absolutely right!). I must have combed over it almost fifty times before I was totally satisfied with how it felt and read.

It’s funny that you mention that because I went through quite a trial trying to figure the answer out a while back upon starting book 3. Needless to say, it took some time, but when it finally came to me, I was like, “Well, that’s obvious. Why didn’t you think of that before?”

Jengo is going to have support simuls, almost like bless-style spells, that support the group as a whole. He therefore knows three simuls: Mirror of the Dragon (already revealed), Ally of the Dragon, and Stamina of the Dragon.

The stamina simul is self-explanatory (it boosts arcane stamina for the group, allowing more spellcasting), and the Ally of the Dragon boosts something else, which I’ll leave the book to reveal (it’s also something rather obvious) :)

Arcane abilities in the elements are seen as a tool to be used as good or evil in the books up to this point with the exception that necromancy seems to be seen as more clear cut as evil. The fact that one of the dragons mentioned is listed as necromancy does that mean that you are exploring a positive aspect of the art of necromancy? Do you plan to introduce an arcanist that can wield the power of necromancy for good? How would that differ from the way those have used it for evil?

That’s a great question. At this time, all the uses of necromancy are evil, but I could foresee it being used in a positive light in certain medical instances. And although I don’t have a plan to introduce a good guy necromancer, your question may change that in due time :)

Hiya!
Just thought I should write something here because I am already reading Clash and I only started the series a week ago.
Ok, maybe it’s the third time I am reading Clash but it’s the same.
I just simply love your books even now that I am reading it for the third time it’s still amazing.
I have a few favourite scenes like tha Battle at Hangman’s rock, the antioc library and everything about castle Arinthian.
I wish you would write more about stuff like what the castle can or could do or what the other training sites are like in the library training ground (in Antioc).
I love all the romanc between the characters I thinks it’s the perfect amount.

I think the fact that the trio already learned a 20th degree spell means they all are able to reach that level. The real question is will it ever be written that they reach that level officially. It is clear that with time and work that the trio have been shown to be able to cast any spell.

Although it’s still a bit early in the process (have to finish Fury of a Rising Dragon, after all), my plan is to show the trio aging through time; their challenges, their hopes, their dreams. For example, the next series about them *may* showcase a marriage (or two?), a graduation, a tournament, and the running of a certain order. I think it’d be fun to see not only how people would treat them, but how they treat themselves. There will be no shortage of trials to come, especially from within (and not always the “kingdom-ending” type).

I’m very excited.

Oh, and I also want to write at least one book about Mrs. Stone’s youth and one about Jez’s tempestuous young adulthood. But I’m perfectly content allowing the trio to age and blossom and become the adults they and everyone want them to be (with some twists, of course).

I loved fantasy early on in life, and then got heavily into role-playing games such as Rifts and AD&D and such. But I wanted more than that–I wanted to craft the adventures from the ground up and make them exciting time and again. The only way to do that was to write a book. That way, the adventure could be read and reread multiple times and experienced anew.

Mostly, I just wanted to write something that I would enjoy, as if I were the one going on the adventure. That’s how Arcane was born :)

Wow, that’s fantastic! I’m honored, and I hope you’ll consider taking a photo of all the books together sometime (with you and your mom in it if you like). I’ll post it to the pictures section of the site.

I have also told all of my friends about the Arinthian Line series and most of them read them and told me they loved the series and would tell more people they know to read the series. I will also keep telling people about the series.

I recently had a rather interesting thought that you may consider using in a future book. What if Katrina wasn’t actually a Von Edgeworth! What if it was found out in the fourth book that the Von Edgeworth line ended centuries before with the last known member being an old unmarried man who died of old age or was secretly murdered. Then, his “daughter” miraculously showed up to claim her inheritance and was believed as she had forged documentation and a familial-like resemblance. Just imagine how Katrina would react if she found out that she was not a Von Edgeworth! Especially, given how unhinged she already is. Then consider how she may react if an actual descendant of Rebecca Von Edgeworth were found without any idea of their heritage and they turned out to be a friend of our heroes or one of them!

i noticed that in some parts of the books that as augum develops his telekinesis he can pull himself toward objects but mrs stone never mentions this. does this skill develop over time or did you just forget to mention it in arcane? anyway i loved your series.(:

I met a girl who was reading the Harry Potter series. I told her she should read the Arinthian Line series. She told me that she had already read the series and absolutely loved the series. I told her to tell her friends and anyone else she can think of to read the Arinthian Line series too. She told me that she would.

The theme of Arcane is friendship and, in the traditional coming of age sense, realizing it’s time to grow up and leave the nest. It’s a story about the importance of working together and trusting your friends to be there for you in times of need.

I throw in little tidbits of allegory and “deeper meaning” all over the place for people to find like Easter eggs. Some of these things are political metaphors, others social and economic. Others still are historical references to things that have happened. And still others are guesses as to where we as humanity are going, based on things I have read (sci-fi, science articles, futurism, etc).

I don’t discuss any of these in detail because I like the subjective, interpretive angle–meaning, people coming to their own conclusions, and what things mean to them. Plus, I think it would ruin the fun from my end to deconstruct some of the foundations I built. I’ll leave that to those better acquainted with deconstruction anyway.

I’ve only recently had the epiphany that, when it comes to my craft, my job as a writer is not to espouse any one particular philosophy or view point, but to fairly espouse every philosophy and view point through characters that would wholeheartedly believe those viewpoints. It’s a notion that has set me free, although still a new one which I am wrapping my head around.

What inspired you to write arcane and all of the others? was it just something you saw in life? recently I have been trying to write a book but just can’t seem to get the charecter right. How did you get so good at writing so fast?

A long history of reading fantasy books (including harry Potter), as well as playing good old-fashioned role-playing games (such s Rifts and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons). As well, my time as a boyscout in my teenage years; some of those experiences translated well into the story, especially adventure-wise.

In truth, I studied at home how to become a better writer by reading a ton of craft books. If you’re into these kinds of booksI always recommend the following three to aspiring authors:

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron
Self-editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King
A Writer’s Guide to Fiction by Elizabeth Lyon

Also any of the craft books by Chris Fox.

I’ve also spent a LOT of time redrafting the work until it’s good. Arcane, for example, went through no less than twelve very thorough redrafts/edits before it was published. I applied what I learned from the books and then worked my butt off to make sure the story was the best story I could write through sheer effort in the editing phases.

Thanks to reading your books, I have been playing Skyrim recently. Out of that, I have noticed one issue that the Arcaners may encounter at some point, if not already in the third book. Transportation I could imagine being difficult. So I was thinking, what if the Arcaners of old came up with a spell called Stead of the Dragon that creates an elemental construct in the shape of a horse that is also in full armor with the armor having the Arcaner crest corresponding the the caster’s shield on the front and sides of the horse. Then they would never need to worry about caring for and hunting down their horses in a rush. Perhaps they could even hook the constructs up to a cart or carriage at some point.

That does fun indeed! Unfortunately book 3 is already written, so there won’t be room for that. Also, I like the idea of real horses, but I may still implement a variation on this idea, as I think it’s fun :)

How did you decide what historical references you put in?
I mean I am only interested in why did you choose Attyla the Mighty as a charatcer in the books?
I am hungarian and Attyla is one of the biggest historical figure in our history and when I saw his name in the book I was really surprised.

The Attyla the Mighty in my work is a fictional character who bears no resemblance to a real historical character, nor was he based off of anyone historical. It was just a name I came up with that I thought sounded awesome.

Wow!
Then it’s just a coincidence. Welp I really thought you picked him for some reason and was happy to see someone from my history but even after this whenever I read his name in your books I will still think of him because it fits perfectly.
I mean the historical Attyla was a true leader.